200 Superb Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once

We all have few books we especially love and cherish. We keep coming back to them for comfort and wisdom. But every once in a while, it’s nice to branch out and try adding some new tomes to your collection.

Look no further. Bright Side has brought you a list of 200 of the most extraordinary books, put together by the BBC. Ready, set, read!

A

The Alchemist by Paulo CoelhoAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis CarrollAll Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueAmerican Psycho by Bret Easton EllisAngus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise RennisonAnimal Farm by George OrwellAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyAnne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud MontgomeryArtemis Fowl by Eoin ColferAtonement by Ian McEwan

B

Bad Girls by Jacqueline WilsonThe Beach by Alex GarlandBehind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate AtkinsonThe BFG or Big Friendly Giant by Roald DahlBirdsong by Sebastian FaulksBlack Beauty by Anna SewellBleak House by Charles DickensBrave New World by Aldous HuxleyBrideshead Revisited by Evelyn WaughBridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding

C

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de BernieresThe Catcher in the Rye by Jerome David SalingerCatch-22 by Joseph HellerCharlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald DahlCharlotte’s Web by E. B. WhiteA Christmas Carol by Charles DickensThe Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M AuelCold Comfort Farm by Stella GibbonsThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Colour of Magic by Terry PratchettThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasCrime and Punishment by Fyodor DostoyevskyCross Stitch by Diana GabaldonThe Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat

D

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald DahlThe Dare Game by Jacqueline WilsonDavid Copperfield by Charles DickensThe Day of the Jackal by Frederick ForsythThe Day of the Triffids by John WyndhamDiary of a Nobody by George and Weedon GrossmithDouble Act by Jacqueline WilsonDracula by Bram StokerDune by Frank HerbertDustbin Baby by Jacqueline Wilson

E

East of Eden by John SteinbeckEmma by Jane Austen

F

Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald DahlFar From the Madding Crowd by Thomas HardyThe Far Pavilions by M. M. KayeFlowers in the Attic by Virginia AndrewsThe Fifth Elephant by Terry PratchettA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryThe Forsyte Saga by John GalsworthyFrankenstein by Mary Shelley

G

George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald DahlGirls in Love by Jacqueline WilsonGirls in Tears by Jacqueline WilsonGirls Out Late by Jacqueline WilsonThe Godfather by Mario PuzoThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyGone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellGood Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil GaimanGoodnight, Mr Tom by Michelle MagorianGoosebumps by R. L. StineGormenghast by Mervyn PeakeThe Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckGreat Expectations by Charles DickensThe Great Gatsby by F Scott FitzgeraldThe Green Mile by Stephen KingGuards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

H

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. RowlingHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. RowlingHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. RowlingHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. RowlingHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradHeidi by Johanna SpyriHigh Fidelity by Nick HornbyHis Dark Materials by Philip PullmanThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas AdamsHogfather by Terry PratchettHoles by Louis SacharThe Horse Whisperer by Nicholas EvansThe Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan DoyleHouse of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

I

I Capture the Castle by Dodie SmithThe Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline WilsonIt by Stephen King

J

James and the Giant Peach by Roald DahlJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëJonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard BachJude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

K

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey ArcherKatherine by Anya SetonKim by Rudyard Kipling

L

Les Misérables by Victor HugoThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Clive Staples LewisThe Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-ExuperyLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottLola Rose by Jacqueline WilsonLolita by Vladimir NabokovLord of the Flies by William GoldingThe Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. TolkienLorna Doone by R.D. BlackmoreLove in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

M

Magician by Raymond E FeistThe Magic Faraway Tree by Enid BlytonThe Magus by John FowlesMan and Boy by Tony ParsonsMaster and Commander by Patrick O’BrianThe Master and Margarita by Mikhail BulgakovMatilda by Roald DahlThe Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas HardyMemoirs of a Geisha by Arthur GoldenMen at Arms by Terry PratchettMiddlemarch by George EliotMidnight’s Children by Salman RushdieMoby Dick by Herman MelvilleMort by Terry Pratchett

N

The Name of the Rose by Umberto EcoNight Watch by Terry PratchettNoughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman

O

Of Mice and Men by John SteinbeckOliver Twist by Charles DickensThe Old Man and the Sea by Ernest HemingwayOn the Road by Jack KerouacThe Once and Future King by T.H. WhiteOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken KeseyOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

P

Papillon by Henri CharrierePerfume by Patrick SüskindPersuasion by Jane AustenThe Pickwick Papers by Charles DickensThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeThe Pillars of the Earth by Ken FollettPoint Blanc by Anthony HorowitzThe Poisonwood Bible by Barbara KingsolverPossession by A.S. ByattThe Power of One by Bryce CourtenayA Prayer for Owen Meany by John IrvingPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenThe Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

R

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert TressellReaper Man by Terry PratchettRebecca by Daphne du MaurierRiver God by Wilbur Smith

S

Secrets by Jacqueline WilsonThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ by Sue TownsendThe Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson BurnettThe Secret History by Donna TarttThe Shell Seekers by Rosamunde PilcherThe Shipping News by Annie ProulxShogun by James ClavellSilas Marner by George EliotThe Silver Sword by Ian SerraillierSkeleton Key by Anthony HorowitzSleepovers by Jacqueline WilsonSmall Gods by Terry PratchettSons and Lovers by D.H. LawrenceSophie’s World by Jostein GaarderSoul Music by Terry PratchettThe Stand by Stephen KingStormbreaker by Anthony HorowitzThe Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline WilsonA Suitable Boy by Vikram SethThe Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline WilsonSunset Song by Lewis Grassic GibbonSwallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

T

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensTess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas HardyThey Used to Play on Grass by Terry Venables and Gordon WilliamsThief of Time by Terry PratchettThe Thirty-Nine Steps by John BuchanThe Thorn Birds by Colleen McColloughThree Men in a Boat by Jerome K. JeromeTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeA Town Like Alice by Nevil ShuteTrainspotting by Irvine WelshTreasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonThe Truth by Terry PratchettThe Twits by Roald Dahl

U

Ulysses by James JoyceThe Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

V

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace ThackerayThe Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric CarleVicky Angel by Jacqueline Wilson

W

War and Peace by Leo TolstoyThe War of the Worlds by H.G. WellsThe Wasp Factory by Iain BanksWatership Down by Richard AdamsThe Wind in the Willows by Kenneth GrahameWinnie the Pooh by Alan Alexander MilneThe Witches by Roald DahlWitches Abroad by Terry PratchettThe Woman in White by Wilkie CollinsThe World According to Garp by John IrvingWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëWyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

1984 by George Orwell